Should gamers be treated as pro athletes?

[Seegtease]

Are chess champions considered pro athletes? No. Then case closed.

If you read, nobody said anybody would be considered a pro-athlete except for athletes. That's not even what the topic is about.

[Hraklea]

Are chess champions considered pro athletes? No. Then case closed.

Your argument is based on the assumption that it is right to say that chess professional players are not athletes.

Sorry, the case isn't closed. But nice try.

[Mister K]

Are chess champions considered pro athletes? No. Then case closed.

Well they are pro something. How else would you define them.

[PokemonHunter]

Should gamers be treated as pro athletes ? : definitely not

being pro athlete makes you healthy and social

[Hayro1]

Should gamers be treated as pro athletes ? : definitely not

being pro athlete makes you healthy and social

Wow.....just wow. Definitely a troll post.

[Seegtease]

Should gamers be treated as pro athletes ? : definitely not

being pro athlete makes you healthy and social

You realize there is a huge difference between professional gaming and someone living in their mom's basement playing video games all day, right?

[Foosha]

*playing video games competitively*
AHHHH HAND CRAMP
*official time out!*
GET THE TRAINERS ON THE FLOOR!
GET THIS MAN SOME OXYGEN AND A BANANA, HURRY!
*taken off stage via stretcher and ambulance*
Announcers-"Boy, that could have been dangerous if not for the banana, lets hope he's alright"
*audience claps*
SUBSTITUTE!!!!!

[Deleted]

No, they should have their own category but still be able to get visa's and salaries because they are still professionals but putting them in the same category as real athletes is just stupid.

[Halicia]

No, they should have their own category but still be able to get visa's and salaries because they are still professionals but putting them in the same category as real athletes is just stupid.

in regards to the OP, im cool with them being treated as athletes for the purposes of VISAs, etc.

If a line has to be drawn somewhere, I'm happy with it being drawn on a side that includes more cerebral activities. I'm fairly sure they include chess, so why not electronic games ?

[Pony Soldier]

Lol no. That would mean every kid playing video games all day are also athletes. Just because there's a reward behind it and they're on teams with retarded gamer names like D35tr0y3r does not mean they are athletes. They are playing a video game just like every other 8-40 year old out there, they're just really good at it. Would you call a 26 year old 400 pound guy living with his parents with no job who plays Halo 4 all day like a pro an athlete? I think not. Maybe we should start calling chess players athletes too with autographed chess pieces like how the MLG "athletes" have autographed headphones.

I find it amazing how many people voted yes. I must not be understanding something.

[Hraklea]

being pro athlete makes you healthy and social

Tell that to all the guys that destroyed their own knees in professional football leagues.

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That would mean every kid playing video games all day are also athletes.

Do you call every kid kicking a ball all day an athlete?

Would you call a 26 year old 400 pound guy living with his parents with no job who plays Halo 4 all day like a pro an athlete? I think not.

Not sure if you know that, but most professional videogame players are slim.

Since when age matters to define someone an athlete?!
Since when living with your parentes matters to define an athlete?!
And since when body fat matters to define an athlete?!

You really have no idea what it an athlete... try a dictionary, for god's sake.

[Salech]

No fucking way, playing computer is not the same as being an athlete on any points at all.

[Pony Soldier]

Tell that to all the guys that destroyed their own knees in professional football leagues.

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Do you call every kid kicking a ball all day an athlete?



Not sure if you know that, but most professional videogame players are slim.

Since when age matters to define someone an athlete?!
Since when living with your parentes matters to define an athlete?!
And since when body fat matters to define an athlete?!

You really have no idea what it an athlete... try a dictionary, for god's sake.

Do I call every kid kicking a ball all day an athlete? No. Nor do I call a person playing a video game for money an athlete.

So because the professional video game players are slim that makes them an athlete?

From a dictionary: ath-lete - A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

1. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Athletics (Track & Field)) a person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance
2. a person who has a natural aptitude for physical activities
3. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Athletics (Track & Field)) Chiefly Brit a competitor in track and field events

a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, coordination, stamina, or strength.

You can't tell me playing video games is a physical activity and that it requires strength, agility and endurance. So yeah I think I know what an athlete is.

[Lora]

pro= being paid to do it. If you're being paid, you're pro. Athlete on the other hand, they aren't.

[Goondicker]

Said "No" because of the word athlete. I don't even consider bowlers or golfers to be athletes, let alone someone who sits at their computer. Like someone else said, if we use the word entertainer in place of athlete, I would have chosen yes.

If eSports were in the same category as Sports, we wouldn't have to use the "e" as a distinction.

[Deleted]

Definitions are important when classifying something like this...
"A person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill."

Gaming does not require any of these, and the "dexterity" needed to do well in these games is almost completely mitigated by macros and computer mice like the Razer Naga.

Try and play Starcraft at the speed of a korean pro and then you will prove yourself correct, until then, you're ignorant and wrong. Sports obviously have more physical elements involved but your average joe cannot even come close to the speed and precision of a pro player in Starcraft. No SC player would be dumb enough to play with a naga btw and macros like in WoW aren't possible in SC so you're only comparing pro athletes to a single game of which has no pro scene anyway.



Playing this fast for a 30minute long game in a best of 3-5-7 is really hard and that's just the physical aspect, the mental aspect is the most important.

To the OP's question: I would say yes at least pro e-athlete but not pro athlete. Chess, snooker, pool, golf among others are considered sports. Why shouldn't pro gamers be called pro e-athletes? People who would object to this concept are either sports fanatics or they have zero knowledge of the pro gaming scene and yes, there is one and it's growing FAST. There should at least be a divide between professional athletes and professional gamers. I don't like the idea of calling competitive gaming a sport but at least it should be regarded as an e-sport. There's a reason why the E is there for sports, why not for athlete?

You also mention the comparison between a pro sports player's practice and routine but you don't understand what pro players also do. Pro korean Starcraft players btw play an average of 10-12 hours a day, EVERY DAY. Maybe for now they shouldn't receive a salary akin to a pro physical athlete but at least a visa because of how e-sports is now becoming more mainstream and more recognised, top pro gamers have to travel all over the world on a month by month basis, pro athletes make too much money anyway but I digress.

If you're having fun doing it then the time goes by fast regardless. And my point still stands, if you have the time you can be a pro gamer, anybody can, you just need to dedicate yourself to it. The vast majority of people couldn't be professional athletes regardless of how much time they have.

Sure anyone can be a pro gamer but you wouldn't make any money because you don't have the resources as an average pro to make it at the competitive level. Korean pros need teams and team houses in order to maintain high levels of play, without it, they would retire pretty fast. What makes you think that the vast majority of people couldn't be pro athletes as well? Are you saying that only a small percentage are capable due to some innate special skills? Why doesn't that apply to gaming?

[Deleted]

Sorry but I can't put in the same bag someone who sits 10-12h a day moving his hands in front of a computer and a fellow who sweats and tears muscle fiber.

[pkusa]

You don't have to be athletic to play video games, so I'm gonna say no.

[smegmage]

Why not? Care to elaborate as to why we should give great glory to a bunch of sweaty dudes smashing each other but not to guys competing in a non-physical game of reaction, planning, and dexterity?

Until the definition of sport is addressed to include video games, this right here is why they're not athletes. I think that someones ability to be a world class video game player should be taken seriously, and that this guy certainly does deserve to be able to skip service if true athletes do...but this is not athleticism.

[MerinPally]

People keep mentioning Starcraft - the other day, one of the players got licensed by the US government to be seen as an "athlete" for the next 5 years. I think he was on that list before but fell off it but now he's back.

If people want to play the "no physical activity card" then one of the top players who's still amazing but not as dominant as before, MVP, he can't feel when he clicks a mouse any more. He has to assume that he's making those clicks. Many of them have RSI and generic wrist/arm problems. They make them wear ear defenders in the booths so no outside sound affects them but there have been times he's been allowed to play without it because he had to hear the click the make sure he was actually pressing the buttons.